This invention relates to wall assemblies. More particularly it is concerned with providing an improved demountable and insulated wall system such as a curtain wall system made of composite thermal barrier wall panels that can be readily assembled and dismantled at the building site with a minimum amount of tools.
Various prefabricated curtain wall structures comprised of composite panels have been proposed in the past wherein each panel is provided with thermal barrier elements between the inside and outside wall components that make up the overall panel and which thermally isolate such components from each other. Such wall assemblages are represented in various prior art patents such as, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,781,111; 2,835,360; 2,654,920; 3,093,217; 3,092,214; 3,114,179; 3,204,324; 3,212,179; 3,420,026; 3,336,713, 3,624,885; 3,854,260; 3,908,313; Swiss Patent 356,265; German Patents 962,017; 1,117,290 and 1,174,483; and Sweet's Catalogue for 1971, Architectural File -- Mirawal Laminated Building Panels 8.23/Mi, page 7.
These prior art wall structures, however, particularly when equipped with thermal barrier or break elements have been somewhat deficient in that the panel joints used in such structures had to be somewhat loose to facilitate assembly, provide for construction tolerances and allow for thermal movement. This looseness of the joints becomes aggravated in outside curtain wall structures under severe wind buffeting, and unless properly compensated for ultimately can impair the watertight integrity of the joint, the thermal insulation properties of the wall panels and the basic performance of the wall itself.
The instant wall assembly because of the improved structure of the individual panels used and the improved joint therebetween is well adapted for use in curtain wall structures assembled from composite wall panels and requiring ease of assembly, high resistance to deflection and good thermal insulation properties. The new and improved arrangement for aligning and connecting adjacent panels together along with the thermal barriers therebetween and the stiffened marginal panel edges all contribute to form a wall system of fully integrated and readily connectable composite panels. The stiffened marginal edges of adjacent panels and the interconnecting joint components advantageously help to align panels in the plane of the wall yet permit variation and movement of individual elements in other planes or directions. The instant wall joint assembly also constitutes improvements over those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,209,816; 2,912,725; 2,951,609; 2,918,993; 3,062,337; 3,303,619; 3,376,678; 3,583,118; 3,675,383; 3,574,449; 3,170,266 and Australian Patent 209,055.